J Street, the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy Americans, announced today an exciting slate of new additions to its Board of Directors, including the first retired Member of Congress to join the organization’s board and the head of one of the country’s major labor unions.
The new Board members are: career diplomat Jon Greenwald, former Recording Industry Association CEO Cary Sherman, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and former Congressman John Yarmuth of Kentucky.
J Street also announced that Peter Frey would begin a new term as Chair of the J Street Board of Directors, succeeding outgoing Chair, now Chair Emeritus, Ambassador Alan D. Solomont. Frey has served as a member of the J Street Board since 2016 and as Vice-Chair since 2021. He also has served as co-chair of J Street’s NYC chapter, after his retirement from a distinguished career on Wall Street.
“It’s a tremendous honor for me to take on this role at such a critical moment for J Street’s mission, and alongside so many distinguished colleagues,” Frey said. “With Israel in the midst of unprecedented political crisis and the US entering a pivotal election year, J Street’s work representing the liberal democratic majority of Jewish Americans has never been more important.”
Jon Greenwald previously served for over fifteen years as Vice President of the International Crisis Group, and for thirty years as a US diplomat. In 2022, President Biden appointed Greenwald as a member of the U.S. Commission for Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad.
Cary Sherman previously served as Chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America and as a senior partner at the law firm of Arnold & Porter. He is also the Co-Chair of J Street’s Regional Advisory Committee, and will represent the Regional Advisory Committee on the Board.
Randi Weingarten has served as the president of the American Federation of Teachers since 2008, and previously served for 11 years as the president of the United Federation of Teachers in New York City. She has received the Roosevelt Institute’s Franklin D. Roosevelt Award for Distinguished Public Service.
John Yarmuth served eight terms as the Representative of Kentucky’s third Congressional District, which includes most of the Louisville Metro area, and was Chairman of the House Budget Committee from 2019-2023. Congressman Yarmuth co-led a delegation to Israel and the Palestinian Territory with the J Street Education Fund, and helped lead numerous pieces of legislation and initiatives in support of Israeli-Palestinian peace. He was a prominent leader in building Congressional support for President Obama’s JCPOA nuclear agreement, which blocked Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon prior to its unilateral abandonment by President Trump.